Autocursing
In NetHack, certain items will instantly become cursed in response to player actions - the presence of these autocursing items will require you to exercise caution when handling unknown items, even if they do not appear to be cursed.
Description
An item that autocurses itself will become cursed regardless of beatitude. The following items will autocurse themselves:
- Loadstones (gray stone)
- Helms of opposite alignment (randomized appearance)
- Dunce caps (conical hat)
The helm and the dunce cap will become cursed when worn by a player, while the loadstone only becomes cursed when dropped - that is, picking up an uncursed loadstone is technically safe.
Strategy
If you are not playing as a Wizard and do not have a large-sized pet(s) that you want to give magic cancellation, you can safely ignore all conical hats - the only other hat that shares that appearance is the cornuthaum, which is only of use to a Wizard or any player with such a pet.
Loadstones are best left alone, since all randomly generated loadstones on the ground and 10⁄11 of loadstones in containers are generated cursed.
Variants
EvilHack
In EvilHack, the Wand of Orcus will autocurse when dropped or wielded, and has a 1⁄100 chance of doing so on its own if it is non-cursed and in your inventory.
See also
- Scroll of scare monster, which also changes beatitude when dropped by players
